Gas price tracker says relief is on the way for California motorists

Gasoline prices in Northern California and throughout the state, which have been increasing for a month while the rest of the nation has seen sharp declines, will likely drop significantly over the next week, according to an alert issued Tuesday by national gas price tracker GasBuddy.com.

A flurry of maintenance issues at state refineries and a corresponding drop in fuel imports have pushed at-the-pump costs in California higher the past four weeks.

On Tuesday, however, GasBuddy said it expects Golden State prices to “quickly recede, thanks to a confluence of falling crude oil prices and an influx of gasoline shipments from overseas.”

GasBuddy projected a possible decline of 15 to 20 cents a gallon over the next week in Southern California and a dip of 10 to 15 cents in Northern California over the same period. The GasBuddy alert noted: “Daily declines in gasoline prices are very likely.”

On Tuesday, the average retail price of gas statewide was $2.84 a gallon, down 2 cents from Monday. The average in Sacramento was $2.57 a gallon, down a penny from Monday.

GasBuddy said the national average on Tuesday was $1.95 a gallon, down a penny from yesterday and down 4 cents from $1.99 last week.